


What Time Is It?

by brookwrites



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Amazingphil - Freeform, Angst, DAN AND PHIL - Freeform, Dan Howell - Freeform, Daniel Howell - Freeform, Depressed Dan Howell, Depression, Fluff, M/M, Oneshot, Phan - Freeform, Phan Angst, Phan Fluff, Phandom - Freeform, Phil Lester - Freeform, danisnotonfire - Freeform, dap, dnp, phan oneshot, tw depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-17 19:04:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13083387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brookwrites/pseuds/brookwrites
Summary: It was 8:00 when Phil noticed that Dan didn’t get off his bus that morning. It was 8:01 when he was tearing through his backpack to find his phone and send him a text. It was 11:29 when the lunch period began, and Phil got the text from Dan. It was 11:30 when he was rushing down the sidewalk to Dan’s house.





	What Time Is It?

It was the usual 7:45 when Phil stepped out of the car. He waved a gentle goodbye to his mom before putting one black Converse in front of the other and walking quickly down the sidewalk towards his school's lobby. It wasn't that he wanted to go to school; it was just that it was so cold that he couldn't bear standing outside any longer than he had to.

He met a few of his friends in the lobby just like he always did. They convinced him to go for breakfast before Dan's bus arrived, so they headed to the cafeteria and walked back. When they made it back to their normal meeting place, Dan was nowhere to be found. "What time is it?" Phil asked, his phone already tucked away in his backpack for the school day.

"8:00," someone muttered. Dan usually arrived at 7:55. Phil's eyes darted around the lobby, lingering on multiple faces he recognized that rode the same bus as Dan. Phil tore into his backpack to dig out his phone, immediately noting the time as 8:01 and shooting a text to Dan. His iMessage sent as a text; Dan's phone was off. Either that or on airplane mode.

"I hope he's okay..." Phil said, accepting that Dan probably wouldn't make it to school today. It was 8:10 when the bell rang, and Phil still hadn't seen the tall, curly head of his boyfriend. 

Dan wasn't in Phil's first two classes, so he didn't miss him, but that didn't mean he left his head for even a split second. Dan missed school often, for a variety of reasons, and the majority of the time Phil wasn't told ahead of time. Dan should have known by now that Phil was a huge worrier, but there wasn't much Phil could do.

"You miss Dan, don't you?" PJ asked, trailing Phil to lunch. 

"Yeah. We really are way too dependent on each other. I need to find new friends to hang out with at lunch; I can't stand when he's sick." He sat down on the couch in the lobby, pulled his phone out of his backpack, and started scrolling. "Not only am I alone, but he makes me so nervous."

As he opened Tumblr, he saw a text come in from Dan. 

hey, sorry i didn't come to school today. it's the big d again...

It was 11:29, and Phil's eyes rimmed with tears. "Depression?" PJ asked, knowing the drill. Phil nodded. 

I'll be there in five.

It was 11:30 when Phil threw on his coat and took off running down the sidewalk.

Dan's house was a luckily short walk from the school, so Phil was there with a minute to spare.

"Morning, Mrs. Howell," he said cheerfully, passing through the kitchen. 

"Lunch period?" she replied, and he nodded. "He's in his room." 

"Thanks," he said, attempting to alleviate his cheer to a dull, comforting sense of love. 

Phil crept up the stairs and to Dan's room, knocking softly on the door. "It's me," he said, his voice full of meticulous care.

"Come in," Dan called out, obviously putting in every bit of effort he had to make the noise.

Phil creaked the door open to see Dan's curly hair barely poking out from under his checkered duvet. He was facing away from the door. "Hey, Dan," he said, sitting on the foot of the bed and rubbing his hand up and down his boyfriend's back. "I'm here."

Phil could hear a slow, steady exhale from beneath him. Dan didn't usually like much company when he was having a depressive episode, but Phil had always been there for him, ever since he first spent the night at Dan's house and Dan woke up in his "hole", as he called it. For years, Phil had been the only one Dan could find comfort in.

"Do you want to get some popcorn and play Mario Kart?" Phil asked, still rubbing Dan's back to create a sense of calm and comfort. Dan silently shook his head, and Phil took a deep breath. It was one of the worse days, one where Dan couldn't be bothered with any of his hobbies. "Have you eaten or drank anything today?" Another shake of the head. "I'll get you some tea."

It was 11:41 when Phil returned with two cups of tea and some optimistic biscuits. "Let's sit up," Phil coaxed. Dan didn't move. "Come on," he said, setting the drinks on the desk in Dan's room and pulling him up into a sitting position. He was unsurprisingly still in his pajamas. He slid down a little bit but generally stayed. Phil handed him his teacup, but he didn't drink; he merely stared off into space.

"Take a drink, please," Phil begged. Dan just shrugged. "I know you think it doesn't matter right now, but it really does. We've been here many times before, Dan. Please drink. It'll help."

It was the same plea Phil always gave him, and deep down Dan knew it was right. He took a tiny sip. "Good job. You're doing great; I'm so proud of you." Phil wrapped his arm around Dan, and he took a bigger sip.

It was 11:56 when empty teacups sat on the desk, Dan in Phil's arms in his bed. "Phil, don't you need to go back to class?" he asked, his voice monotone. "You've been here a while; I'm not worth making you miss third."

Phil checked his watch. The bell did indeed ring for the lunch period to end in only a minute. "Of course you are. Third isn't worth my time without you."

"But you'll fall-" 

"You're worth it." Phil squeezed Dan's hand as if to make it clear that he wasn't going anyway.

It was 11:57 when Dan cracked a weak smile.


End file.
